Railroad-rail



(No Model.)

J. E. MANDEVILLE. RAILROAD RAIL;

Patented May 5, 1891.

V j 9m A UNITED STATES PATENT Enron.

JOHN MANDEVILLE, OF HAlVLEY, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD-RAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,563, dated May 5, 1891.

Application filed December 4, 1890.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN E. MANDEVILLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at l-Iawley, 'Wayne county, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

From time to time efforts have been made to produce compound rails formed of sections capable of being united so as to break joints and of having those portions removed and replaced that are subjected to the greatest amount of wear and deteriorate most rapidly; but difficulty has been experienced in so making the rails that they will be adapted for use in connection with the ordinary chairs, and that the sections will constitute in use practicallya single rail, and without so increasing the expense as to practically prohibit their use.

In order to secure the advantages of a sectional rail Without an undue increase of expense or altering the general form or outline from that of the old rails in use,'I construct the rails as fully set forth hereinafter, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of my improved rail. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of one of the sections. Fig. 3 isa crosssection through one of the bolts, and Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one of the nuts.

The rail consists of two sections A A, which are substantial counterparts of each other, each section having a bottom flange 1, an outwardly-curved web 2, a head 3, and upon the inside of the base one or more projections 4 and recesses 5, and on the inside of thehead similar projections and-recesses, these parts in the two sections being so arranged that when the two sections are placed together face to face the projections 4 of one section will enter the recesses 5 of the opposite section and the two sections will constitute a continuous rail having the same outline and proportions as ordinary solid rails of the same weight. The projections l are in the form of continuous ribs widening toward the base and the recesses of continuous grooves contracting toward their bottom, so that in proportion as the sections are forced together the olnts bex Serial No. 373,570. (No model.)

and where there is no tendency of the two sections to separate. The two sections may be clamped together by any suitable clamping devices; but I prefer to make use of special bolts 6, to be described hereinafter, whichpass through the web portions 2. It will be seen that as the two web portions are curved outward, so that their inner faces are not in contact, the action of the bolts will tend to draw the webs toward each other, so that the faces of the sections above and below the Webs will be held together under a springpressure that will tend not only to maintain their contact, but also to prevent the rotation of the bolts or their nuts.

It will be seen that as the projections or rails are tapered toward their edges and the grooves contracted toward their bottoms: each rail-section may be rolled in a rolling-mill in like manner as the ordinary rails, and that the parts will be ready for use without any other fitting after rolling and punching, and

that the cost of special appliances for manu facture is therefore avoided, so that the article can be made at very little increase over the cost of ordinary rails.

Figs. 3 and 4- illustrate my improved bolt and locking-nut. The inner face of the head of the bolt is concaved or grooved at 10, and the nut is formed with two or more grooves 11 extending diametrically across its inner face. The curved surface of the head of the bolt should correspond with the convexity of the web of the rail, and when the bolt is in place and drawn tightly against the rail it is prevented from turning by the interlocking of the curved surfaces. The grooves in the nut I preferably make of less radius than the curve of the web, so that the edges of the grooves may have a better bite upon the rail. These grooves, in conjunction with the spring in the rail-web, constitute a locking device for the nut. For instance, if the nut is square, at each quarter-turn the web will interlock. with the nut and prevent it from unscrewing when it is turned up tight.

lVithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts, I claim 1. A compound rail consisting of two 1011- gitudinal sections, each section having a base, web, and head portion, the web portion being curved outward and perforated for the reception of a locking-bolt and the base and head portion being provided with longitudinal ribs and grooves extending horizontally, the ribs tapering toward their edges and the grooves contracted toward their bottoms, whereby when the two rail-sections arebroughttogcther they may be accurately fitted and securely 

